


Jackson

by PansyForYourThoughts



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Drinking, Drunkenness, F/M, Happy Birthday Joel, Karaoke (kind of), Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-07
Updated: 2015-10-07
Packaged: 2018-04-25 08:14:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4953016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PansyForYourThoughts/pseuds/PansyForYourThoughts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For his birthday, Joel persuades Ellie to join him in a rendition of the duet made famous by Johnny Cash and June Carter. Awkwardness and slight OOC happenings ensue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jackson

After the fact, Ellie would conclude that she’d been just a little too drunk. It’d been Tommy’s bright idea to, of all things, have a karaoke night. The settlement typically set aside Friday evenings to host some type of entertainment, usually in the form of movies. With Joel’s help, Tommy had managed to salvage a screen, projector, and dozens of rolls of film from a drive-in in Independence. Two nights prior, in fact, they had watched a movie - The Princess Bride, a comedic fantasy film from Joel and Tommy’s early childhood, a benign mockery of the fairy tale stories so beloved by children of the world once upon a time.

Ellie had actually liked it. She’d managed to pay attention through the whole movie - not an easy feat, with Joel perpetually handling her. He’d had a little too much to drink, as he was bound to do on Fridays. His inhibitions lowered almost to the point of nonexistence, he pulled Ellie onto his lap, reaching under her shirt to methodically rub a series of circles in her back.

Ellie hadn’t minded - hell, she’d liked it. She leaned back against Joel as he massaged her, occasionally fiddling with her bra strap but overall chaste in his attention. If Tommy and Maria had noticed, they didn’t say anything.

We got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout,  
We've been talkin' 'bout Jackson, ever since the fire went out.  
I'm goin' to Jackson, I'm gonna mess around,  
Yeah, I'm goin' to Jackson,  
Look out Jackson town.

The next morning, though, Tommy and Maria had cornered her as she was going about her chores. “You know,” Tommy had said brightly, taking the broom from her hands, “tomorrow’s Joel’s birthday.” “So it is,” Ellie agreed, taking the broom back from him. “I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve gotta get this place clean. You wanna help, Maria?” “I’ll take over,” Maria said lightly. “If you don’t mind. . .”

“Okay, um. . .sure.” Ellie relinquished the broom, giving Tommy her full attention. The man had grinned ear to ear, and it was so uncharacteristic she almost wanted to ask him if he was alright. Of course, that would have been pretty rude. “So, what did you have in mind for Joel’s birthday? Are we gonna make a cake or something?”

“Or somethin’. Now, you’re gonna think this is crazy, but I actually thought we’d have some music - singin’ and what not. You up for it?”

“Sure, I guess. What kind of song did you have in mind? I can only play a few simple ones, you know.”

“Oh, you won’t be playin’ this time around. Leave that to Joel - I already cleared it up with ‘im. See, you’re gonna be doing the singin’ part. Actually, it’s a duet. . .”

Well, go on down to Jackson; go ahead and wreck your health.  
Go play your hand you big-talkin' man, make a big fool of yourself,  
Yeah, go to Jackson; go comb your hair!  
Honey, I'm gonna snowball Jackson.  
See if I care.

“You can forget it. I ain’t doing this - No. Fucking. Way.” Ellie scowled and rolled her eyes, an adolescent display she hadn’t indulged in since she was a teenager. Then, as now, Joel had been the cause and recipient. “Did you hear me, old man? You can fuckin’ forget it! I ain’t doin’ this!”

Joel smiled and pinched Ellie’s cheek. He kissed her, and she had to resist the urge to back away from the strong stench of Budweiser on his breath. Clearly, Joel hadn’t been sober in a while. “Aww, you know what? You’re startin’ to get a little twang in yer talkin’.” Joel laughed loudly and pulled Ellie toward him in a crushing hug. She yelped and struggled in his hold, which was about as effective as trying to blow down a brick wall.

“Joel, this isn’t funny! Let me go! Fine, I’ll sing the damn song with you! Will that make you happy?”

“It sure would, darlin’.” Joel eased his hold on her and set her down. Ellie trailed her fingers across Joel’s cheeks, skimming the wrinkled creases under his eyes. She looked in his eyes, bloodshot and red-rimmed. She felt a maelstrom of emotion, love and grief and despair so strong her own eyes brimmed with tears.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

When I breeze into that city, people gonna stoop and bow. (Hah!)  
All them women gonna make me, teach 'em what they don't know how,  
I'm goin' to Jackson, you turn and loosen my coat.  
'Cause I'm goin' to Jackson.  
"Goodbye," that's all she wrote.

Joel and Ellie spent all day Saturday practicing. It was good to have the day off, in a way, and Ellie found that she actually liked the song. Years ago - so long ago that he couldn’t remember exactly when - Tommy had come across a gramophone and stacks of LPs. The LP he’d (it must have been him) picked for Joel and Ellie to sing was over 70 years old. The man and woman on the cover were fascinating. Ellie found that she especially couldn’t stop staring at the woman’s hair, long enough to reach her shoulders and curled on the ends.

“What would you think if I let my hair grow out like this?” Ellie held the album cover against her chest with one hand. With the other, she undid the elastic holding her ponytail. Reddish brown tendrils framed her face, glowing brilliantly in the mid-afternoon sunlight. Joel twined his forefinger around a strand of her hair, a gentle tugging sensation that made Ellie want to kiss him. She did, taking hold of his arm and pressing her lips to the pit of his elbow.

“Your hair’s fine the way it is. Now enough talk, let’s get back to practicin’.”

But they'll laugh at you in Jackson, and I'll be dancin' on a Pony Keg.  
They'll lead you 'round town like a scalded hound,  
With your tail tucked between your legs,  
Yeah, go to Jackson, you big-talkin' man.  
And I'll be waitin' in Jackson, behind my Jaypan Fan, 

In spite of her promises, and hours of rehearsing, Ellie had to down 3 bottles of the dreaded Budweiser before she was ready to sing. Joel, who was going on 48 hours of inebriation, somehow managed to stand up straight. His voice was husky and gravelled, and Ellie felt heat rise in her cheeks as she imagined the things Joel had said to her in the same tone.

She was so flustered that she almost tripped. She grabbed hold of Joel’s shirttail to steady herself, an action that could have proved disastrous if she’d ripped the fabric. Fortunately, the flannel held, and Ellie was able to regain her balance in time to join Joel in the penultimate verse.

Well now, we got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout,  
We've been talkin' 'bout Jackson, ever since the fire went.  
I'm goin' to Jackson, and that's a fact.  
Yeah, we're goin' to Jackson, ain't never comin' back.

By the time they were done, nearly everyone in the room was clapping. A few stood up, and Ellie swore she could hear somebody whistling, while someone else howled like a wolf and suggested Joel do indecent things to Ellie, followed by raucous laughter. Ellie fumed silently, cursing the damn stupid redneck, and she didn’t notice Joel had left her side until she heard the impact.

It seemed that Joel hadn’t appreciated the man’s suggestion either. Ellie watched in stunned amusement as Joel rubbed his knuckles, bruised from punching the goon so hard. The asshole was down for the count.

Joel spat on him. He turned, walked back to Ellie, and set the guitar down. Before she could protest, he picked her up and carried her out of the building. Ellie relaxed in his hold and clung to him, wrapping an arm around his back. Idly, she nestled her head against the crook of his arm, abruptly overcome with drowsiness. Ellie closed her eyes, smiling as Joel kissed her cheek. She felt the warmth of his breath as he whispered, repeating the last lines of the song.

Well, we got married in a fever, hotter than a pepper sprout'  
And we've been talkin' 'bout Jackson, ever since the fire went…

With her last conscious thought, Ellie found herself wondering if the fire really had gone out, and what she could do to remedy the situation if it had.

**Author's Note:**

> Please don't judge me. This idea came to me randomly as I was playing through the game again, and it seemed like a good one at the time.


End file.
